The late Andrew Breitbart and his team worked tirelessly to expose the fraud and abuse of the Pigford settlements scandal, the injustice to black farmers and the media malpractice in addressing the story. For his efforts, he was smeared, mocked and trashed as a liar.

The compensation effort sprang from a desire to redress what the government and a federal judge agreed was a painful legacy of bias against African-Americans by the Agriculture Department. But an examination by The New York Times shows that it became a runaway train, driven by racial politics, pressure from influential members of Congress and law firms that stand to gain more than $130 million in fees. In the past five years, it has grown to encompass a second group of African-Americans as well as Hispanic, female and Native American farmers. In all, more than 90,000 people have filed claims. The total cost could top $4.4 billion.